SAO: A different story
by MasterKirito
Summary: At critical moments in time, a single action shapes thousands of lives. Life becomes death, freedom becomes imprisonment, one act changes the fate of all. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of SAO, where the lines between these are often blurred. One player walks the path of death, another narrowly avoids it. The wheels of fate continue to turn, as unfathomable as ever.
1. Prologue - Change of Destiny

**Hello there and thanks for showing interest in this brand new project called SAO: A Different Story. This is a collaborative project of 6 different authors (the names will be in the post-chapter A/N), and we hope that you like it. This story will be quite long, since it'll not only feature the events of Aincrad, but also the events of ALO and GGO as well, and maybe even more after that. Since it's a huge story, be warned that some OC's will be most likely an important part of it in the future. We hope to be able to update every 2 or 3 weeks if possible, and if you did like it, leave us a review with an idea/critic about it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SAO, nor any of it characters or plot.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He had lost…

Kirito, the Black Swordsman, the Twin Blade Swordsman, the first self-proclaimed beater, was kneeling on the floor with tears flowing down his cheeks; he had been beaten in the only possible way that he would consider even worse than death.

Asuna, the Flash, the woman he loved more than any other, his beloved wife, was lying on his arms as her HP was slowly falling, all because of an attack that was meant for him.

In the end, his stubbornness in thinking he was able to win against Heathcliff had brought his worst nightmare into reality. Heathcliff was the final boss in this death game; there was no way he could have won with his current strength, it was insane to think that he ever could. He should have known better, they still had a long way to go; a quarter of the tower still remained between them and their freedom. But now, after witnessing such a defeat, most had lost any hope of continuing on.

Everyone looked on, stunned beyond belief…

Heathcliff showed no emotion whatsoever; he merely stood there, observing the fallen couple, like one might study a pair of insects beneath his boot. After a couple seconds, he began to speak.

"Do you see now? You can't win against me; now is not the time. The only thing you have gained from this foolishness was her death. That is proof enough that you won't be able to win." Heathcliff said as he turned around. "Perhaps…" he made a slight pause "Perhaps by the time you get to the 100th floor you'll be able to beat me, and avenge your beloved wife." He closed his eyes as his body started to glow radiantly. "I look forward to seeing if you can survive long enough to fight me… Kirito-kun." With those last words he disappeared in a blinding flash of light. As the light began to dissipate, the other players throughout the room slowly regained their ability to move once more.

Time froze up for Kirito while he tried to process those words. Kayaba was right; the fight was hopeless from the start, and his foolishness had only resulted in Asuna's pointless death. Death here, in this mental prison, meant death in the real world. The damned torture device known as Nerve Gear would destroy her brain with a concentrated blast of radiation in a matter of moments, and Kirito was unable to do anything to prevent it

Kirito lost his ability to think straight as every memory of him and Asuna together suddenly flared into his mind, relentlessly playing over and over again. He didn't know how he could live without her; she had become his entire world, the sole reason that he had to continue on and complete the game. Without her...

He was lost.

Everything faded from his view, enveloping him in a darkness so deep and black that not even the purest of light could penetrate it; the only one that could was quickly fading from existence before his eyes.

"I was stubborn. If I had waited… she could've been here with me. I'm such an idiot. I've killed so many people... The Black Cats... Sachi... those members from Laughing Coffin... Kuradeel... and now I've killed Asuna. This all happened because I was stubborn and didn't think before acting." He muttered as he pounded his fist into the ground with as much strength as he could muster, tears streaming down his face, and screams of despair echoing throughout the room.

Images of his 'victims' started to surround him, their eyes silently accusing him, asking him why them, why they had to die. He collapsed onto the cold stone floor, not even bothering in getting up, as his thoughts continued to go down this dark path.

"So, this is it. She's gone because of my stubbornness. I shouldn't have faced him here." he said bitterly "What was I thinking…? Just one person against the final boss... I knew it wasn't possible, but I was too prideful to step down. I thought I could win, win and save her… save everyone from this… to finally beat this twisted death game and become some hero, but in the end I just became the fool who failed to protect the life of even a single person… and I lost everything." He blinked as his tears stung his eyes and continued to stream down his face. "She's gone now. Asuna is gone…" His voice became barely above a whisper. "I have no reason to continue in this death game... Maybe I just have to accept my fate... maybe I should just… end it here and now. But, would my death... be enough to atone for her death?"

He had given up. There was no reason to go on living, go on fighting, if he could not be with his beloved. He then saw a black blade abandoned on the floor; it was his sword, Elucidator. A single thought suddenly consumed him.

"Here is my chance. I could get it and try to beat the game... or…I could end my journey right here and now." He got up and picked up the sword, his mind now made up. "I guess this is the end. It's my entire fault after all. If I wasn't so stubborn... all of those people would be alive. I killed them, not only in this game, but in real life... all of the families I've ruined... I'm a murderer... nothing but a damn killer." He then prepared to stab himself with the sword. "I'm so sorry Asuna... I couldn't fulfill my promise to you after all... I will see you soon." He started to lunge the sword in at his chest, but before he could impale himself, a familiar voice echoed throughout the boss chamber.

"Kirito, catch!"

Kirito opened his eyes. He was back at the boss room. Asuna was still there, but her body was quickly becoming engulfed in a brilliant light.

Acting purely on instincts now, he turned to face the direction where the voice was coming, his face devoid of emotion, and his eyes dull.

"What…?"

A small bluish item was flying in his direction, and after a few blinks he recognized the item that was hurtling in his direction. The «Divine Stone of Returning Soul», the very same item he fought to find almost a year ago during the Christmas event quest. His heart was suddenly filled with a hope that he had not felt in a while; he still had a chance to save her!

Due to the nature of the item, he was unable to use it for his original intent, which was to revive Sachi, and so he gave it to Klein on the condition that he use it on the first person that he saw dying. The item was only capable of reviving someone a maximum of 10 seconds after their death, so it wasn't possible to him to use it to bring back Sachi. And it now seemed that fate had given him the chance to use it and save his beloved Asuna's life. The miracle item was now within his grasp; he instinctively reached out and caught it. He wasted no time in activating it, immediately shouting out.

"Revive Asuna!"

The stone started to emit a soft blue glow, and less than a second later it exploded into thousands of glittering shards, nearly identical to the ones that were floating up from Asuna's body. In that same moment, the light that was engulfing Asuna's body slowly started to fade, and her HP started to recover as the rays of light faded.

When the light finally disappeared and her HP was completely restored, Kirito shut his eyes and breathed out in relief and embraced her now unconscious body.

"Thank goodness you're ok… I'm so glad…" he whispered to her limp form as tears of joy started to cascade down his cheeks.

Kirito was in a state of pure relief, to still be able to be so close to the person he loves. In that moment nothing else mattered to him, not the game, not even Kayaba Akihiko, he only cared about holding Asuna safely in his arms, so that none could separate them.

He embraced her a bit more strongly. In that moment she woke up, and gently placed her right hand against his left cheek.

"It's okay now. You don't need to cry… Kirito-kun…" she whispered in his ear.

Kirito elicited a small gasp and opened his eyes, gazing into her hazel orbs for a while before slowly nodding to her. Everyone else in the room watched the reunited couple for a few moments, and then, one by one, started exiting the boss chamber. Totally ignoring the new unlocked floor, which didn't seem to be important anymore, everyone just seemed to want to go tell the other players about what had happened here.

After a while, everyone had left the room, leaving only Kirito and Asuna, who still locked in their embrace, neither wanting to release the other just yet, and Klein, who remained sitting on the floor, looking down with a saddened but relieved expression on his face. He then got up and slowly walked towards the couple, stopping a few meters from them.

"Kirito…" Klein clenched his fists in frustration. "You… you idiot! Why did you even try to fight him?! It was obvious that it was impossible. What were―" Before he could finish his sentence, Kirito interrupted him.

"Klein…" Kirito said in a low voice.

Klein unclenched his fists, and after a few moments he continued.

"Sorry… I… I just didn't want to see you die…" he looked to the side trying to hide some tears that just started falling "Is there… is there anything I can do to help?"

He waited a few moments, but Kirito didn't seem to hear him speak. As he was turning around, he heard Kirito's voice once again.

"Klein…" he said louder than before.

"Yeah…?" Klein replied.

"Please… go on and open the door to the next floor."

Klein widened his eyes a bit, but in the end he turned back into the door's direction and slowly walked up to it, and moments before he could touch it, he paused, and said.

"Thank you…" with a slight pause he added "Don't give up."

Kirito's eyes widened slightly, slightly nodding to him. Klein, not wanting to delay it any longer, touched the door and it swung open, the hinges groaning in protest as the massive doors parted. He then grabbed a teleport crystal from his pouch and teleported back to «Collinia», leaving Kirito and Asuna alone in the massive, empty chamber. Kirito was still embraced with Asuna, and both remained quiet for a little while. It was with great reluctance that Asuna then broke the silence.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" she said with a sad tone.

After a few seconds, Kirito replied. "Don't be… it was my fault. If I wasn't so―" before he could finish Asuna interrupted him.

"It's not your fault. You were only trying to free us from this death game." she said, trying to calm him down.

"Still… I should've known that… that… I wasn't able to―" he was then interrupted once again.

"Remember… Remember our promise? We promised that we would protect each other, no matter what. I protected you… and then you protected me." She gave a small pause, slightly undoing their embrace, and gave Kirito a tender, passionate kiss. With that single, simple act, Asuna had completely shattered any doubts that Kirito might have had. After a few moments they separated their lips, Asuna spoke again, her voice firm yet kind. "That's the proof that I'm still here… stop blaming yourself… everything's okay now…"

They stayed in silence for a little longer, and then Kirito nodded to her while they both got up.

"Let's go home." Asuna said with a small smile gracing her lips.

Kirito nodded once again, and they both finally removed themselves from the embrace. They slowly made their way through the first set of doors, taking them out of the anti-crystal zone and allowing them to teleport back to «Coral Village». Taking one last sidelong glance at each other, they grasped each other's hand and activated their crystals; both were unsure of what they would face in the future but they knew one thing for certain: whatever it was, they would face it, together.

* * *

The «Scarlet Jade Castle» is just like its name described, a castle made completely out of scarlet-colored stones, with little black metal details at the doors and windows, and ruby gems carved to form complex motifs. Combined with the vast blue sky full of floating white clouds, and dozens of different types of red flowers surrounding it, it is truly a sight to behold.

The castle is truly massive, and takes up about half of the 100th floor area. Deep within the castle's interior, sitting upon an ancient throne of scarlet stone, is a man in wearing a blood red armor, his face illuminated from a floating screen. On the screen's display are two people, a boy and a girl, locked in a desperate embrace. The man noticed, upon closer examination, tears cascading down the boy's face as he held the girl's body, which seemed to be unconscious.

Upon watching such a scene, a smirk slowly came across his face. That smirk didn't last long, however, as a few seconds later, the man raised his eyebrow in surprise when he noticed that the girl was starting to awaken, seemingly unharmed. The two figures on the floating display began talking and, although he could not hear the actual words, due the couple's hushed tones, the man could tell that they were emotionally charged, if the boy's continued sobs were any indication.

"Most impressive." the man said with a grin growing back on his face.

After some seconds watching the couple's conversation, the girl broke slightly away from the embrace, and leaned in to press her lips to her companion's, and so they stayed that way for several moments. Feeling that he had seen enough of it, the man waved his right arm and the screen disappeared, leaving the couple to their privacy. He then joined his hand in front of his mouth, with a thinking expression.

"It seems I have underestimated you, Black Swordsman. Even when I think I've managed to defeat you, you still manage to surprise me..." Kayaba Akihiko said amusedly. "Fine… perhaps you will be powerful enough to become the hero to defeat me some day. Very well, I shall wait until then… Kirito-kun."

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**A/N: Hope you've liked it, and hope to see your review soon enough. For more info about the members of this project, and the story itself, please check my profile, and if you have any doubts, feel free to send me a PM.**

**The other authors that are working into this are: KingOgnik, Izraill, Akinos, TheGlaceonFanatic and 9 Tailed Death God, go check their profiles out sometime.**

**Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Aincrad Aftermath

**Hello everyone, quite a bit of time no see! About 3 weeks have been past, which means it's time to update the story, of course! I hope you're excited to read, this chapter is a whole lot longer than the proglogue. Even though there isn't much action into it, I hope that it satisfies your guys wishes. Chapter 2 will most likely have a bit of action, so don't worry about that part. I also want to thank you guys for all the reviews you've left, it's really good to see this project getting such a good reception into the website, and I really hope this project grows bigger with time. Well enough chit-chat, time for a good section of reading.**

******Disclaimer: I do not own SAO, nor any of it characters or plot.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

In a flash of temporarily blinding light, the black swordsman and his beloved appeared in «Coral Village», hand in hand. Once they had taken a moment to regain their senses, the couple started to walk back to their home. With no rush to arrive there, they were walking slowly and silently.

It was a pleasant night, the sky was clear, the stars were shining brightly, and the wind, which was slowly blowing the leaves of the trees, carried the sweet scent of blossoming flowers. All of this worked to create an atmosphere of peace so out of place in such a cruel game; the 22nd floor of Aincrad is a place that not even monsters dared to disturb.

The main village was considerably small, but to make up for this, the floor had multiple safe areas outside the village's limits. The village's streets were surprisingly devoid of life that night; despite the late hour, it was very common to see some people walking around, many of whom were fisherman returning home from a long day of fishing.

As the couple left the main village, the black swordsman let out a small sigh, and lowered his gaze to focus on his feet, a saddened expression on his face. He allowed his thoughts to wander as he walked down the narrow path that led to their isolated home.

'Should we really keep trying to fight... like this?' He thought to himself. 'Kayaba almost killed me... and I almost lost Asuna because of that... should we just… give up?' His thoughts darkened a bit more. 'Would she forgive me if I had gave up on trying clearing the game... maybe we should stay here… would that be the answer?'

He then gazed at Asuna's hand for a couple seconds, seeing the ring that signified their marriage, and started to think the other way. 'Would she forgive me if I risked her life again trying to beat this game?'

While he lost in his thoughts, Asuna noticed that Kirito had been a lot quieter than usual. Curious why he was so silent, she stopped in her tracks, causing her husband to stop as well, his dark eyes looking into her hazel ones questioningly.

"Kirito, is something bothering you? You've been so quietly lately... what is it?"

"Asuna…" He said as he shifted his gaze to focus on her face. "What… should we do now?" He gave a small pause, searching for the right words "Should we continue on beating the game? Or... should we just forget all about it and stay living here?"

Asuna gave him a melancholic look, slightly closing her eyes "Kirito-kun… let's not worry about that for now, we should just try to live our lives for a while…" She responded as she grabbed his hand. "I… I want to spend more time with you… we're married and we haven't been able to enjoy it yet. We should just stay here and continue our honeymoon for now, we decide what to do afterwards, okay?"

Even though he knew Asuna was right, he had a worried expression, an expression of fear… fear of losing her again.

She knew that he was worried, that he wanted to save her from the death game, but at the same time he didn't want to risk her life. She then spoke up again.

"You should really stop worrying about that. I'm here with you, don't worry about finishing the game for now… I'm not in a haste to finish the game anymore… as long as I have you by my side, as long as you are not far away from me, I'll be happier than anyone."

Kirito took note of her facial expression; it was one of pure affection. He gave her a carefree grin and nodded happily. She responded to his expression with one of her radiant smiles; one that never failed to make him feel warm and safe inside.

They continued to slowly walk towards their cottage, which wasn't very far away from where they were now.

Upon their arrival, they climbed up the porch of their home, changed into their casual clothes, and stayed outside for a while watching the stars of that pleasant night. After a few minutes the wind picked up, sending a slight chill over Asuna, making her shiver a bit.

Seeing that his wife was feeling cold, Kirito slowly wrapped his arm behind her back, bringing her closer to him. She giggled in response to that, and nestled her head against his chest.

They stayed like that for a good while, watching the stars and the moon in the clean sky.

"It's beautiful… isn't it?" Kirito asked Asuna with a calm voice.

Asuna got closer to him "Yeah, it's such a sight to enjoy. Even though this is just a game, and only a graphic card generating these stars, for me… it's real."

Kirito flashed a smile, he slowly moved his hand to her head, and started to gently run his hand through her chestnut hair while she closed her eyes and snuggled her head closer to his chest.

The feeling of safety that she felt when she was close to him was powerful enough to almost make her fall sleep.

Suddenly, while she still had her head peacefully leaned against her beloved's chest, a low, rumbling growl could be heard coming from Kirito's stomach, causing her to let out a giggle.

"It seems someone is hungry." She gazed at him, causing his cheeks to slightly crimson in embarrassment. With another giggle Asuna assured him, "I'll make something for us to eat, can't leave my husband starving, right?"

With another giggle she reluctantly pulled away, but not before planting a quick kiss on his cheek, making him to slightly blush. She then slowly walked to the door, and once she reached it, she turned her gaze back to him.

"Aren't you coming inside too, Kirito-kun?" She asked.

He looked to her for a few seconds and replied. "I'm going to stay here a little bit more."

She smiled. "Don't take too long, or else the food will go cold."

He nodded to her while she entered the house.

When she was already out of sight, he gazed up into the sky.

"Thank you… Asuna…"

* * *

Four days have passed since the incident at the 75th floor, and the players of SAO got severely struck by such event, causing many guilds to start disbanding due to not having any hope of beating the game.

There were only a few guilds left at this point; aside from some PK guilds and some other minor guilds, the only guilds left were the «Divine Dragon Alliance», the «Army» and «The Knights of the Blood Oath», totalizing not more than fifteen. Even though those guilds were holding up to the pressure of disbanding, most of them were at the edge of destruction, and KoB was no exception.

At the morning of that same day, Asuna received a letter from one of the squad captains from KoB, requesting her to attend to a reunion at the guild headquarters, and also confirming her promotion as the new leader of KoB.

Even though the letter was quite shocking, Asuna was not surprised at all. Since she was the second in command of KoB, thus being very important to the wellbeing of the guild, she was already expecting that something like that would happen.

She was not sure if she should show up. Even though she knew it was important, she knew that this reunion would probably end up into a discussion about the recurring event on the 75th floor, and not wanting to remember about what happened there, she was in a state of doubt.

When it was about 9 AM, she decided to start making breakfast. While Kirito was not home, since he went fishing earlier that morning, and he hadn't come back yet, Asuna's mind was locked into that letter, and she didn't knew well what she should do. When she was about to finish cooking, Kirito arrived home.

"I'm back!" He said as he entered their home.

Asuna was so distracted by the letter that she didn't even notice him entering. Upon noticing that she didn't answer yet, he went into the kitchen's direction and stopped by the door.

"Asuna?" he asked with a rather confused expression.

After this last attempt to get her attention, she noticed his presence.

"Oh… sorry, I was distracted with the cooking. Welcome back, Kirito-kun." She said faking a smile. "Breakfast is almost done, you arrived just in time." She said hoping that he hadn't noticed her worry on the other matter in question.

Kirito then sat in the couch of their living room while Asuna finished breakfast. She made her traditional sandwiches, and even though it is quite a weird meal for breakfast, Kirito never complained about it. Once she sat by his side, they started eating together.

After a minute or so, Kirito noticed a worried look coming from Asuna, and the driving silent way she had that morning. Then, he spoke up.

"Oi, Asuna, you seem a little worried today, what's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

Asuna gave him a surprised look, seeing that he noticed she was worried about something. After looking away for a couple seconds, she replied.

"No, it's not that… I… I received a letter from KoB earlier this morning… and they want a meeting to decide its future. I don't know if I should show up… if I do I may turn into the new guild leader, and I wouldn't be able to stay here with you anymore." She said expressing a melancholic look.

Kirito seemed to understand her worries, he didn't want to be apart from her either, though he knew that not showing up was not a solution for such a matter. After thinking a while about it, he spoke up once again.

"Don't worry about it Asuna, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it… you can just go to the meeting and see what they want." He said trying to calm her down.

Yet, her worried look didn't vanish, and she still had her doubts if the guild members would accept that. Once again, Kirito attempted to calm her down.

"Even if you have to stay there as leader, we can still have our time together."

She gazed into his eyes for a while and felt a sense of assurance. She nodded to him, and gave her final answer.

"Okay, I'll go… but only if you come with me." She said now with a little smile growing in her face.

"Can't say no to you right?" he answered with a grin.

Asuna replied with a grin of her own and nodded happily. With her anxiety over the meeting finally gone, Asuna and Kirito turned their attention to the delicious meal in front of them. They spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon just sitting on the porch talking about some of the adventures that Kirito had gone on during his time as a solo player, with Asuna occasionally smacking him for being reckless.

Kirito quickly glanced at the clock and, noticing that it was 3PM, decided that they needed to leave for the meeting. Once they had arrived «Grandum», they proceeded to «KoB» headquarters, where a member of the guild was waiting at the entrance.

The interior of the HQ was quite large, and it took several minutes for them to reach the meeting room.

Once they finally reached the large mahogany doors, the sound of a heated discussion could be heard coming from the room. Hand in hand, they pushed open the door and stepped into the room to find that all members were present and were arguing amongst themselves, split into two sides. One member, an older man with a gray beard, simply sat down between the two groups, not getting involved with either side.

After taking a moment to get over the surprise of walking into the middle of a war-zone, they proceeded to take two of the remaining seats at the round table.

Neither Kirito nor Asuna spoke a word in the anarchy that surrounded them; it wasn't like they could hear anything over the yelling anyway. They both just sat there, waiting for someone to notice their arrival, but nobody did; they were too caught up in their debate.

While the members continued to bicker like children, Kirito took a look at his surroundings, having never gotten a good look at the room before now.

The first thing that stood out was the blood red tapestries hanging on the white stone walls, the emblem of the «Knights of the Blood Oath» adorning them. His gaze then shifted to the suits of guild armor that lined the walls like silent sentinels, awaiting the order to attack any who might enter. Finally, he looked at the large picture window at the other end of the room that gave an impressive view of the city below, looming over it like the castle it was.

After waiting for several minutes, and with no sign of the players shutting up any time soon, both Kirito and Asuna had lost most of their patience. Asuna stood up, unsheathing her rapier as she did. With a frown she slammed the hilt down onto the table, causing a loud boom to echo throughout the chamber.

"Enough!" she shouted as the echoes died down.

The shouting ceased almost immediately as the blow's last echoes died away. Asuna kept a steady glare at each of the members, most of which were taken aback by her outburst; a few even showed traces of terror.

Kirito was really surprised that she had took up an action, and thought to himself. 'My wife is sure scary when she needs to be… glad that she's not screaming at me this time around…'

After a long moment of silence, Daizen, one of the most influential members, head of finances, and now the second in command of the KoB, spoke up against her actions.

"How unprofessional, totally unfitting of someone in your position, can't you see we are―" He was interrupted when another member of the guild, a female and one of Asuna's biggest supporters and fans, Lucy, spoke up.

"Asuna-sama! I'm so glad you're finally here, these people are saying bad things about you and―" Once again a member of the group spoke up, cutting her off.

"Finally someone stood up some order; I was beginning to think I was the only one here with a shred of common sense." This comment came from the guild's oldest member who everyone simply called 'Gramps', due to him being in his late 50's. Despite his aged appearance he still held a commanding aura thanks to his towering stature and piercing blue eyes.

Everyone became silent again, their eyes fixed on Asuna. As she took her seat, a satisfied gleam in her eyes, Daizen gathered himself and once again spoke up, directing his attention fully on her.

"So, as I was saying before, who'll be the next one to take the leadership? I for one do not feel that Asuna is up to the task, it should be someone who has more experience."

Another member, who happened to be one of Daizen's biggest supporters, Sauren, spoke up "I think it should be Daizen-sama, he is the most―" Once again Lucy spoke up, cutting him off in the process.

"Definitely not! The new leader is and should be Asuna-sama; she was the second in command before after all, wasn't she?" She said trying to support Asuna.

"A woman can't lead a guild, especially not one that was originally by Heathcliff-sama. Besides, the cause of all this is that boy sitting by her." Daizen retorted, pointing his finger accusingly at Kirito.

"Me?" Kirito asked, thoroughly confused. Asuna however was not pleased at having Kirito insulted; the glare she gave Daizen was cold enough to freeze water. Daizen continued, unfazed.

"Yes you, if it wasn't for your 'heroic' attempt to try to beat him, none of us would be here discussing these nonsenses. He might be Kayaba Akihiko, but he was helping us after all, it doesn't matter if―" He was interrupted by an angry Asuna, who had heard enough.

"Leave Kirito out of this, it's not his fault! At least he tried to do something, and he had good intentions." She said as Kirito gave her hand a small squeeze, causing her cheeks to become slightly red. Despite the logic behind her words, Daizen did not back down.

"Good intentions aren't enough to win this death game! He shouldn't have interfered at all, if Heathcliff-sama were here we would be probably on floor 77 already!"

The member seated next to him stepped in. "Kirito-san is our hero, no one other than him would have enough courage to―" Whatever he meant to say was lost when Sauren interrupted.

"He is a Hero? You have to be joking. That guy is nothing more than a goddamn beater, he was the one who caused this whole freaking disaster in the first place―" As was quickly becoming the custom of this meeting, he was interrupted, this time by two members simultaneously. It was then that any order that might have been in place crumbled, returning the room to the anarchy from before.

Kirito just sat there with a calm expression on his face. He didn't mind the meaningless accusations because he knew better. Despite his calm demeanor, his wife's face was a mask of anger and hurt at having to listen to Kirito being insulted while he did nothing. Kirito, noticing her conflicting emotions, leaned in and whispered something to her.

"Asuna…"

She gave him a quick glance. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm just a little―" She stopped as a loud boom reverberated throughout the room.

All heads turned to face the source of the disruption, quickly finding it: Gramps had stoop up from his chair and slammed his hands over the table.

"Silence!" Although he spoke in an even tone, his voice commanded everyone's attention. "The boy is not our problem. He may have been the cause of this, but that is unimportant at the moment. We are here to discuss the future of this guild, not to point the blame at someone." He gave a slight pause to allow his words to sink in. "Now, it's senseless to argue over whom will lead us when the only thing you seem to be able to accomplish is argue like children." He gave another pause as he gave each and every person a stern look. "Since we cannot come to a decision, I propose instead that we decide whether the guild should remain, and continue to be divided, or disband."

Everyone in the room looked at him, shocked at the suggestion of disbanding. After a moment Daizen found his voice.

"This is nonsense! If we disband the guild who will―"

"The true nonsense here is us continuing to argue for the rest of our lives. We have been here for over an hour already and until now, none of us have reached a single decision. If we cannot even decide who will lead us, how do you suppose we will be able to function at all? That is why I propose a vote to decide the future of the guild."

Every member gave him another surprised look, while Daizen gave him a look of pure anger. Gramps then continued.

"All in favor of disbanding the Knights raise your hand and all opposed keep your hands down."

The first to raise his hand was Gramps, quickly followed by Kirito and Asuna. It was not long before every member had their hand raised, with the only exception being Daizen. Daizen looked around the table with a look of disgust and surprise, before turning his attention to his former subordinate, Sauren, who had also voted to disband.

"Even you betrayed me, Sauren?" He asked venomously.

Sauren sighed. "The old guy has a point, which is something that nobody else had until now."

Daizen just glared at him, his fists clenching beneath the table.

"Well then, as of today the «Knights of the Blood Oath» are officially no more." The old man said with a sense of finality.

The members stood up and slowly filed out of the room, once the others were gone, Kirito and Asuna slowly walked towards Gramps, who had remained behind to speak with them in private. "Thank you, sir…" Asuna bowed, searching for the right words.

He gave her a smile. "Just call me Gramps, young lady."

She nodded. "Thanks, Gramps!" she said with her trademark smile. Kirito took this as his cue and thanked him as well. Before the elder player could respond, an angry Daizen called to them from the open doors.

"This is not over yet, do you hear me, old man?! You'll see! I'll show you that your choice was wrong." He exclaimed, pointing to them as he quickly turned and stormed off.

Asuna and Kirito both had a confused look on their faces, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Wasn't Daizen the Head of Finances before?" Asuna asked him. "I don't remember him being like that…"

He shook his head. "If I had to guess, it would seem Heathcliff's abandonment has resulted in him going a bit mad with power from his promotion to second-in-command." He reasoned out, stroking the tip of his beard as he thought. "Ignore him; he is just trying to survive like the rest of us."

A couple of seconds passed before Gramps turned his attention to Kirito, his piercing blue eyes burning with an intensity that made the Black Swordsman feel unnerved.

"You have potential boy…" With that he began walking towards the door. He paused when he was a meter or so from the door, not looking back. "Don't give up; I'm sure if anyone can end this, it is you…"

Kirito's eyes widened upon hearing the old man's words. He simply stood there as Gramps disappeared from his sight, thinking about what had been said.

"Don't… give up… huh…" He looked to his right as he felt a hand on his shoulder, not surprised to see Asuna giving him a smile.

"Let's go home, Kirito-kun!" She said happily with a radiant smile on her face.

Kirito returned it with a grin of his own as he took her hand and began walking to the door, hand-in-hand with the girl he treasured above all others. As the doors closed behind them so did this chapter of their lives, with another one beginning. What it had in store, they knew not, but they did know that they would face it together.

* * *

It has been two days since the disbanding of the «Knights of the Blood Oath» and a powerful storm is rolling through most of the levels of Aincrad. To the already disheartened players, this storm only served to further lower their spirits.

It was about 7PM and darkness had descended upon the city of «Lindus», the rain was falling as heavily as ever. On the outskirts of the city a figure dressed in a dark cloak was running through the raging storm, searching for some shelter from the downpour. Visibility was practically zero; even if you had your detecting skills maxed, a person would be lucky to see 5 meters ahead of them.

After several minutes of running through the storm's deluge, the lights of «Lindus» came into view, acting as a beacon for the lone player. Running even faster, the cloaked figure threw open the door of the first building it saw, slamming the door behind them. Finally out of the rain, the intruder to a look at its surroundings and noticed that it was a weapons shop, the sounds of metal crashing on metal echoing from the back room.

"Excuse me, is anybody there?" The person, a young girl judging by the pitch, called out, hoping to attract the attention of the blacksmith working away in the other room.

"A customer?!" A female voice could be heard from the depths of the store, along with the sound of something heavy being dropped. After a few seconds, Lisbeth, the owner of the store burst out of the back room, still wearing her smith attire. "You're the first customer I've had in here for so long, what can I do for you?" She asked quickly, making the cloaked girl blink as she took a moment to decipher the pink-haired girl's words.

"Ah… no actually, would you mind if I stayed here for a while? Only until the storm goes away," the drenched girl asked.

Reaching up, she slowly removed her hood, revealing a young girl. Despite wearing a cloak, her body was completely drenched, with glistening droplets of rain falling from her wet hair and cloth. Her brown hair was tied up in two pigtails help in place with red ribbons that were the same shade as her eyes, giving the girl a cute and innocent appearance.

But her looks were deceiving, Lisbeth realized as she looked at the girl's eyes. It was apparent that most of the childlike innocence had been slowly stripped away to form a battle-hardened player who knew how to take care of herself. Considering all of the things that the trapped players had gone through over the past two years, it wasn't surprising that it had even affected the pigtailed girl.

Lisbeth sighed as she got a good look at the younger player, disappointment evident on her face as she learned that the pigtailed girl wasn't interested in buying anything. "Uh… sure, come in, I'll make some tea to warm you up. My name is Lisbeth by the way."

Silica smiled and offered her hand, which the older girl shook. "I'm Silica, nice to meet you. Thanks again for letting me stay here for a bit."

"No problem, come on, let's go get that tea."

Lisbeth led Silica into the back room and down some stairs into a small kitchen. While Lisbeth started making the tea, Silica took a seat at the nearby table, and looked around the room to pass the time. It was a small but cozy room; the walls were painted a pale yellow and adorned with various weapons that she guessed had been created by her hostess. A large fireplace was set in the far wall, a cooking spit built into the stone. On the opposite wall was a rack of various meats and other foods.

A few moments later the tea finished boiling and Lisbeth poured them both a steaming cup before sitting down.

"So… what were you doing alone in that storm?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh that reminds me!" She quickly opened her menu, and within seconds a bright light appeared on her left shoulder, quickly reforming itself into her pet dragon. "Pina was with me, but the storm got worse and I had to put her in my inventory to make sure she was ok."

"Oh wow! It's rare to see someone with a tamed beast these days, and she's just so cute." Lisbeth said as she admired the blue feather dragon curled up on Silica's shoulder. "You must like her a lot, right?"

"Yeah, Pina has been my partner for a long time now; she's like my best friend. Plus she saved my life so many times now; I don't know what I would do without her." She said turning her attention to Pina and began stroking the creature's head affectionately, eliciting a catlike purr from it.

Lisbeth gave a small smile at the heartwarming scene between the younger girl and her pet, but that quickly changed into a saddened one as her troubles once again entered her mind.

Silica noticed and turned her attention back to her pink-haired hostess. "Hey… is anything wrong?"

Lisbeth shifted her gaze to the side, trying to hide her sadness as she replied quietly. "I haven't had a customer for weeks… ever since people discovered that Heathcliff was actually Kayaba Akihiko, no one has even set foot in my shop… I'm at the edge of having to close down…" It was then that the tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey don't worry about it; I'm sure someone will eventually buy something." She gave a slight pause to come up with the right words; she never was the best at this sort of thing. "Here, I can buy something if that would help―"

"No, it's okay…" Lisbeth interrupted, wiping away her tears. "You don't need to buy anything if you don't want to… I'll figure out something…" She faked a smile to reassure the girl and avoid speaking about the topic anymore.

"Hey, I was wondering, is that your natural hair color?" Silica asked, figuring that they needed a new topic.

Lisbeth gave her a funny look. "My hair?" She gave a slight pause before covering her mouth to suppress a giggle. "It's the first time someone has actually asked me that. It's not natural, but there is a funny story behind it. Wanna hear it?"

Silica smiled. "Sure!"

The pink haired blacksmith took a sip of her tea. "So, I won this hair dye in an event at floor 52, but I didn't even like it, so I had planned to sell it to someone else to try and get some money out of it. But when I was checking the item information, someone bumped into me and I accidently pressed the use button. I was mad at first, but once the person who bumped into me apologized I felt calmer, and it didn't even look that bad. In the end, I turned out to become good friends with her, and I even crafted something for her that same day."

Silica started to giggle. "You're right, that was a pretty funny story!" She said between laughs.

Lisbeth's expression slowly went from cheery back to sad. "I wonder if she's doing okay…" She muttered quietly.

Silica raised an eyebrow questioningly, silently encouraging her to continue.

"She was involved with the incident on the 75th floor… she was actually the second in command of the «Knights of the Blood Oath», it probably came as a real shock to her…"

Hearing this, Silica became lost in her thoughts as well. "I know how you feel… I also have a friend who was involved with it… I hope he's doing alright…"

A stagnant silence fell over the two as they thought of their friends. It was so quiet that the light patter of rain on the shop's roof could be faintly heard over the roar of the fire.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Lisbeth sighed. "I shouldn't worry about her… she has him by her side anyways… I'm sure he wouldn't let she get hurt. He would never let anything bad happen to those he cares about." Lisbeth gave a slight pause and commented jokingly. "Kirito would probably fight another dragon for her if he had to."

Silica then widened her eyes in surprise. "Kirito? You know him too?"

Understanding shone in Lisbeth's. "Yes, I'm his personal blacksmith, but I haven't seen him for over 2 months now."

"Personal blacksmith?" Silica asked.

"Yeah, I met him through the other person I was talking about." She gave another slight pause before her curiosity got the better of her. "How did you meet him?"

"Once, when I was still a beginner, Pina was killed in a fight trying to protect me. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many. Just when it looked like I was about to die he came charging out of the woods, like some knight you hear about in fairy tales, and saved me and helped me save Pina."

They stayed like that for a while, sipping tea and sharing their different stories about some of the adventures that they had with The Black Swordsman. Time passed by quickly as they became engrossed in their conversation, the passing of the storm going unnoticed. It was here, during one of the worst storms that Aincrad had ever seen, that a new friendship had blossomed between the two. They talked through the night and well into the morning before they slowly drifted off to sleep where they sat.

* * *

Nine days have passed since the incident. Despite all the time that had passed, for many people, it weighs as heavily on their minds as if it just happened yesterday. They had yet to accept the fact that one of their own was really a traitor, the one responsible for building this accursed prison. Yet for one young couple, thoughts of the event were the furthest thing from their mind; they had more important things to think about: each other.

That morning, while she was making their breakfast, Asuna noticed that they were starting to run low on food and other necessary supplies. Deciding that they needed to go out anyway, she told Kirito that they would be leaving after lunch for the city of «Algade» on the 50th floor.

Half an hour later they were walking down the streets of the busy shopping district of Aincrad's second largest city. It was a place where, according to Kirito, a person could find everything they were looking for within the labyrinth of alleys and inns that looked like you would not return from once entering.

"We're finally here," Asuna said, checking her list of supplies to buy. "The first thing on the list is food. There should be some stores in the western section of the market that have what we need."

With a flick of his wrist, Kirito opened his map of the area, highlighting the quickest route to their first destination. With a grin plastered on his face, Kirito took Asuna's hand and proceeded to lead her through the busy streets. Using his familiarity with the city's layout, as well as the map, they were able to reach the store in a few minutes and, after buying what they needed there, continued to work their way through the marketplace's various shops. An hour later there was only one item left on the list: a new knife to replace her old one.

Being the passionate chef that she was, Asuna had quickly run down the blade's durability and, before she had the chance to get it repaired, it finally broke. After asking around for a little while, Kirito found out that there was one shop that might have the item that they were looking for. As it just so happened the shop was owned by none other than Agil, who Kirito had been thinking of visiting sometime soon. As they approached the familiar storefront, Kirito immediately took notice of the lack of people in this area. He didn't have to wait long to see the reason why; each store's windows were boarded up and a notice of their closure posted on the door, including Agil's.

"Out of business?" Kirito said out loud as they got closer to the door.

They exchanged glances for a split second and instantly knew they had come to the same conclusion. The only explanation they could come up with for his sudden closure was a sudden lack of players bringing in items to sell and customers willing to buy. Rather than walk away however, they decided it was at least worth a try to see if they could talk to the friendly merchant. Kirito knocked on the door several times but his only response was silence. Seeing that he was no longer there, they left and headed out in search of a new knife for Asuna. Three hours and innumerable shops later, they were still unable to find the quality of blade that she was looking for.

Looking up at the sky, Kirito noticed that the sun was already starting to set. Pointing it out to Asuna, they decided that now was a good time to eat the sandwiches that she had made earlier. Finding an unoccupied bench located near Agil's shop, they quickly sat down and ate their snack in silence, Kirito savoring every bite of her trademark creation. By the time they had finished eating, the sun was no longer visible over the rooftops and the streetlights began flickering to life. As they were standing up to head home, a light came on in the window on the floor above Agil's shop. Figuring that he had returned, they decided to go back to his shop one last time. The closure notice was still there, but the lights were on.

Kirito tried knocking on the door again. "Agil, are you home?" he shouted. They could hear footsteps on the other side of the door, and after a few moments the door opened, revealing the tall, bald shopkeeper with a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry, we're closed―" He stopped midsentence as he realized who it was at the door. "Kirito?"

The black haired youth grinned at one of the first people he was able to call a friend in this game. "Hey Agil, mind if we come inside for a while?" Kirito asked politely.

Agil nodded, and the couple entered the building. The store was a complete mess with boxes and crates stacked up against the walls and loose papers scattered across the floor like the aftermath of a hurricane. Following Agil up the stairs in the backroom, Kirito could not help but look around sadly at the poor condition of what was once an excellently stocked and clutter-free store.

The small apartment above the former store was in much better condition. Adorning the walls were various weapons and shields, as well as the stuffed heads of several rare animals. On one wall was a bookcase, filled with various books, their subjects ranging from hunting to novels written by players. After giving a quick look at his surroundings, Kirito sat down at the table, Asuna taking a seat next to him and Agil taking one of the spots on the opposite side of them.

After an awkward silence, Agil spoke up. "So, what brings you two here?"

"We had to buy some resources around town, and one of our items in list was a new knife for me to cook with, and Kirito said you might have something." Asuna explained.

Agil lowered his gaze and let out a deep sigh.

"Is something wrong, Agil?" Kirito asked concernedly.

Agil looked back up at his young friend tiredly. "As you can see, I had to close my shop a couple days ago, a lot of people did. There just isn't as much business coming in as there used to be when we were still clearing."

A moment of silence permeated the room. The young couple sat there awkwardly, not sure what to make of this. Until now, they realized, they really did not know just how extensive the damage was from Heathcliff's betrayal.

"So, even you have been affected…" the ebony haired teen muttered.

Agil said nothing; he didn't have to. The sullen expression on his face said it all. "People all over Aincrad are giving up… Are we really never going to get out of this death game?" Asuna closed her eyes slightly, her despair sending a pang of guilt through Kirito's heart.

"I understand Agil… I'm sorry for bothering you so late in the night. If you would excuse us we―"

Agil raised his hand. "Kirito, what are you planning to do?"

Silence once again filled the room. Kirito taken aback by the question, he had never really thought about his plans after that first day. Sure he and Asuna had occasionally talked about it but never for more than a few minutes before it became too uncomfortable of a subject. After seeing firsthand the aftermath that plagued Aincrad, even he was starting lose faith in their ability to recover. After a little while searching for an answer, he replied.

"I'm… not sure."

Agil nodded at the short reply. They decided then that is was best that they take their leave, although they did promise to meet again soon, under more pleasant circumstances. Before closing the door behind them, Agil gave the ebony haired teen a stern look. "Kirito, don't give up."

The boy's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the exact same words that he had been told twice already. The only difference now was that they were coming from one of his closest friends here, after he had lost nearly everything. The effect was much more noticeable this time around as his body tensed up and he clenched his fists. Asuna could immediately tell that something had clicked in his mind just from appearances alone, what it was however, she could only guess at.

"Asuna… do you mind if we make one last stop before heading home?" There was something in the determined way that he spoke that made her nod in agreement.

Kirito quickly opened his friend's list, and immediately found the person he was looking for; his friend's list was rather small anyway. He typed out a brief message and pressed the send button. He didn't have to wait long for a reply as only a minute passed before he was alerted by the new message icon. He quickly opened it up and read it while Asuna looked over his shoulder, curious as to whom he could want to meet so suddenly. It read:

'Hey, it's been a while since I heard from my favorite customer. I hope you're not in trouble again, although knowing you, you probably are. If you want to meet, go to the Boar's Head Tavern in the center of the town, I'll be sitting at the table in the back corner. See you soon.'

Grabbing Asuna's hand, he quickly led her through the thinning crowd of shoppers heading home with their purchases. It only took about fifteen minutes for them to arrive at a small, poorly lit building with a battered sign depicting the head of a boar hanging above an equally battered door.

Asuna instinctively pressed herself closer to his side. "Are you sure this the right place? It seems… I don't know, off."

"Yeah, this is the right place. Just stay by me and you'll be fine," Kirito replied, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

After a moment to think of it she merely nodded her assent. As one they stepped through the open door and into the tavern's interior. They had to pause for a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the significantly darker room. Slowly more details came into focus and the first thing that stood out was how crowded the bar was with players ranging from former clearers to simple merchants. The next thing they became aware of was the worn down appearance of the furniture and floor; it looked as if they had not been cleaned or repaired ever. On the walls were various types of older weaponry and various stuffed heads of different creatures. Above the bar, behind the NPC tending it, was a large boar's head, presumably where the place had earned its name.

After they had taken in their surroundings, Kirito started to scan the crowd for his contact. Before he could spot the person he was supposed to meet, a thick arm covered in gray armor wrapped was thrown over his shoulder. Looking up to face his attacker, Kirito was visibly shocked to see none other than Schmitt, the Divine Dragon Alliance lancer who they had helped during the investigation into the safe-zone murders.

"Kiiirito-saan, I haven't seen ya since ya helped me out a few months ago. What're ya doing over here, oh; I bet ya came to have a drink with your old buddy Schmitt?" It was obvious that he was intoxicated; his words were slurred and he had a slight glazing over his eyes. "And ain't that chick ya carrying around the one who saved ya in the graveyard? Never thought I would see that cute thing ever again."

Kirito felt Asuna tense up beside him and, when he glanced over at her, he saw the irritation in her hazel eyes. He decided that it was best for him to change the subject before she lunged for the larger man; he knew full well the danger involved with angering his hot-tempered lover.

Kirito cleared his throat. "It's getting difficult to breathe Schmitt…"

Despite being quite drunk, he seemed to understand what Kirito had said and, after a second, he withdrew his arm from around the raven-haired teen's neck.

"My bad, I guess I don't know mah own strength. So whatcha ya say, are we gonna drink or just stay here talkin'?" Schmitt brought his glass up to his mouth for a drink, completely unaware that there was no more alcohol in it.

While he turned his attention to the bartender, the couple took that chance to slip past him unnoticed and made their way to the back. Squeezing past the bar's patrons, they quickly spotted their contact sitting exactly where the message said, wearing a brown cloak, the hood concealing the figure's face. Approaching the table, Asuna was surprised when the figure leaped out of the seat and onto Kirito's back, the hood falling off in the process to reveal none other than Argo.

"Kii-bou!" the mousy girl squealed. "Where have you been? Enjoying the honeymoon still?" she put extra emphasis on this last question with a sly grin, causing both of them to blush a slight shade of red.

The boy gave off a nervous laugh. "It's nice to see you too Argo." Kirito replied. "Sorry I haven't been in contact for a while, things have been… busy lately."

The information broker dropped down and made her way back to her seat, the pair following her example. "It's fine. Now, what were you looking for this time? Knowing you it has to do with some rare event or mob."

Kirito's expression turned serious. "Actually, I was hoping you could provide some information on what has been going on lately. To be more specific, how people are handling things after the 75th floor incident."

Argo gave him a weird look. "It depends on what you're looking for."

"Everything you know about the situation," Asuna replied quickly.

"I see, everything went chaotic in the first few days after that. Most players have lost nearly all hope of ever completing the game. Most of the people who had shops dealing in weapons, armor, or any other items for clearers have been forced to close and most guilds have disbanded since then." She gave a slight pause to gauge the couple's attentiveness; they were hanging on her every word. "Some people even completely lost it and committed suicide; the numbers are going up every day…"

Kirito's expression darkened. "It's my fault for all of this… If I hadn't foolishly challenged him, none of this would have happened…" His dark eyes shifted down towards the table.

Asuna, silent until now, couldn't stand to listen to him blame himself any longer. "It's not your fault! Stop blaming yourself because of what happened!" Several tears streaked down her cheeks. "If you hadn't done that, we would still be pawns in his game. There is no telling what he had planned later on had he remained with us."

Kirito looked right at her, his black orbs meeting her hazel ones. Seeing the girl he cared for above all else crying over his weakness impacted him greatly. He mentally chastised himself for saying what he had said, knowing full well that she did not approve of him doing that. His lips curled up into a sad smile as he brushed the tears from her face.

"Thank you Asuna, I needed that. You're right, it is for the best. I just can't…"

She shook her head and gave a small smile of her own. "Don't worry about it, ok? As long as we are together we can get through anything," she said, turning her attention to the information broker. "Argo-san, would you mind continuing?"

Argo gave an exasperated sigh. "Because of all of the commotion, some of the PK guilds have stepped up their activity, and that goes double for Laughing Coffin." She paused again, and then continued. "There is some hope though; I've heard a rumor of a guild starting up that is willing to clear the game, no matter the cost. I'm not sure how long those will last but at least it's something."

For the next thirty minutes they talked more about the general state of things, both of them occasionally asking her to clarify something or specifics on certain players and guilds. Once Kirito had all the information he needed, they stood up and the three headed for the door. They bid their farewells and just as Argo was turning to walk away, Asuna remembered something important.

"I nearly forgot to ask, how much for all of the information you gave us?"

Argo giggled and gave her a big grin. "Don't' worry about it; let's just say the debt has been taken care of already. Isn't that right, Kii-bou?"

The pair just looked at each other then back at the mousy girl in confusion. When she didn't offer any sort of answer, Kirito spoke up.

"What do you—?"

Argo interrupted him. "Hey, Kirito… Don't give up! We're counting on you!"

And with that she was gone, one minute she was standing there and the next she just vanished, leaving Asuna to just stare in confusion at the spot that only moments ago was occupied by the girl.

Asuna looked over at her husband. "Hey, Kirito, how did she…"

She trailed off when she saw him grinning. She just stared at him for a moment before sharply nudging him in the side, immediately receiving a surprised yelp from the boy beside her.

"What did I do now?" he asked pitifully as he rubbed his side.

"It's rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you," she pouted. "So what were you thinking of just then anyway?"

He chuckled and ruffled her hair, earning him a dangerous glare that made him stop quickly. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Let's go home, ok?"

She nodded and wrapped both her arms around his, leaning against his side. "Yeah, we've done what we came here to do. I'm sure you're hungry now anyway," she finished with a giggle.

He gave her another grin. She assumed it was because of her mention of food and she was partially right. What she didn't know was that something had clicked in his head when he heard that familiar phrase. After hearing it for a fourth time in almost as many days, he finally knew how to answer Agil's question about what it was he planned to do.

Arm in arm, side by side, they started their walk back towards the city square, one with a plan that he was sure would shake Aincrad and its trapped residents' of the despair that had taken hold of both.

* * *

**A/N: That's about it for today's chapter, and I really hope you've liked it. About my profile, I'm trying to get some time to edit it, but I just can't find a gap between working of the chapters and studying to do that, so I'm really sorry for that. **

**Also, this next week is spring break, and a couple of our authors won't be joining us to work with the chapter, which may provoke a certain delay into the next update of the project, but do not worry, this will go on, just stay tuned for news onto it.**

**As always, leave a review/critic into this chapter, since it may help us a bunch into improving this project. Thanks everyone for your time and attetion, and I see you all next time, and remenber, if you have any doubts, feel completely free to leave a PM to me, or any of the other authors.**

******The other authors that are working into this are: KingOgnik, Izraill, Akinos, TheGlaceonFanatic and 9 Tailed Death God, go check their profiles out sometime.**

******Until next time!**


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